What is Numerology?

Numerology is any study of the purported mystical relationship between a count or measurement and life. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs. Numerology and numerological divination by systems such as isopsephy were popular among early mathematicians, such as Pythagoras, but are no longer considered part of mathematics and are regarded as pseudomathematics by modern scientists. This is similar to the historical relationships between astrology and astronomy, and between alchemy and chemistry.[citation needed]

Today, numerology is often associated with the paranormal, alongside astrology and similar divinatory arts.

The term can also be used for those who place excess faith in numerical patterns, even if those people don't practice traditional numerology. For example, in his 1997 book Numerology: Or What Pythagoras Wrought, mathematician Underwood Dudley uses the term to discuss practitioners of the Elliott wave principle of stock market analysis.

Is the Rocky Alien Planet Gliese 581d Really Habitable?

A rocky alien planet called Gliese 581d may be the first known world beyond Earth capable of supporting life as we know it, a new study suggests.

Astronomers performing a new atmospheric-modeling study have found that the planet likely lies in the "habitable zone" of its host star — that just-right range of distances that allow liquid water to exist. The alien world could be Earth-like in key ways, harboring oceans, clouds and rainfall, according to the research.

This conclusion is consistent with several other recent modeling studies. But it does not definitively establish that life-sustaining water flows across the planet's surface.
The new study assumes that Gliese 581d, which is about seven times as massive as Earth, has a thick, carbon-dioxide-based atmosphere. That's very possible on a planet so large, researchers said, but it's not a given.

The Gliese 581 system: Worlds of possibilities:

Gliese 581d's parent star, known as Gliese 581, is a red dwarf located 20 light-years from Earth, just a stone's throw in the cosmic scheme of things. So far, astronomers have detected six planets orbiting the star, and Gliese 581d is not the only one intriguing to scientists thinking about the possibility of life beyond Earth.

Another planet in the system, called Gliese 581g, is about three times as massive as Earth, and it's also most likely a rocky world. This planet received a lot of attention when its discovery was announced in September 2010, because it's located right in the middle of the habitable zone. That makes 581g a prime candidate for liquid water and life as we know it — if the planet exists.

Some researchers question the analysis used to discover the planet, and say they cannot confirm 581g in follow-up studies. The planet's discoverers, however, are standing by their find.

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Moon Microbe Mystery Finally Solved

There has been a long-lived bit of Apollo moon landing folklore that now appears to be a dead-end affair: microbes on the moon.

The lunar mystery swirls around the Apollo 12 moon landing and the return to Earth by moonwalkers of a camera that was part of an early NASA robotic lander – the Surveyor 3 probe.

On Nov. 19, 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean made a precision landing on the lunar surface in Oceanus Procellarum, Latin for the Ocean of Storms. Their touchdown point was a mere 535 feet (163 meters) from the Surveyor 3 lander -- and an easy stroll to the hardware that had soft-landed on the lunar terrain years before, on April 20, 1967.

The Surveyor 3 camera was easy pickings and brought back to Earth under sterile conditions by the Apollo 12 crew. When scientists analyzed the parts in a clean room, they found evidence of microorganisms inside the camera.

In short, a small colony of common bacteria -- Streptococcus Mitis -- had stowed away on the device.

The astrobiological upshot as deduced from the unplanned experiment was that 50 to 100 of the microbes appeared to have survived launch, the harsh vacuum of space, three years of exposure to the moon's radiation environment, the lunar deep-freeze at an average temperature of minus 253 degrees Celsius, not to mention no access to nutrients, water or an energy source.

Now, fast forward to today.

NASA's dirty little secret?

A diligent team of researchers is now digging back into historical documents -- and even located and reviewed NASA's archived Apollo-era 16 millimeter film -- to come clean on the story.

As it turns out, there's a dirty little secret that has come to light about clean room etiquette at the time the Surveyor 3 camera was scrutinized.

"The claim that a microbe survived 2.5 years on the moon was flimsy, at best, even by the standards of the time," said John Rummel, chairman of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Planetary Protection. "The claim never passed peer review, yet has persisted in the press -- and on the Internet -- ever since."

The Surveyor 3 camera-team thought they had detected a microbe that had lived on the moon for all those years, "but they only detected their own contamination," Rummel told SPACE.com.

A former NASA planetary protection officer, Rummel is now with the Institute for Coastal Science & Policy at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.

Rummel, along with colleaguesJudith Allton of NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Don Morrison, a former space agency lunar receiving laboratory scientist, recently presented their co-authored paper: "A Microbe on the Moon? Surveyor III and Lessons Learned for Future Sample Return Missions."

Poor space probe hygiene

Their verdict was given at a meeting on "The Importance of Solar System Sample Return Missions to the Future of Planetary Science," in March at The Woodlands,Texas, sponsored by the NASA Planetary Science Division and Lunar and Planetary Institute.

"If 'American Idol' judged microbiology, those guys would have been out in an early round," the research team writes of the way the Surveyor 3 camera team studied the equipment here on Earth. Or put more delicately, "The general scene does not lend a lot of confidence in the proposition that contamination did not occur," co-author Morrison said.

For example, participants studying the camera were found to be wearing short-sleeve scrubs, thus arms were exposed. Also, the scrub shirt tails were higher than the flow bench level … and would act as a bellows for particulates from inside the shirt, reports co-author Allton.

Other contamination control issues were flagged by the researchers.

In simple microbiology 101 speak, "a close personal relationship with the subject ... is not necessarily a good thing," the research team explains.

All in all, the likelihood that contamination occurred during sampling of the Surveyor 3 camera was shown to be very real.

A cautionary tale

On one hand, Rummel emphasized that today’s methods for handling return samples are much more effective at detecting microbes.

However, the Surveyor 3 incident back then raises a cautionary flag for the future.

"We need to be orders of magnitude more careful about contamination control than was the Surveyor 3 camera-team. If we aren't, samples from Mars could be drowned in Earth life upon return, and in all of that 'noise' we might never have the ability to detect Mars life we may have brought back, too," Rummel said. "We can, and we must, do a better job with a Mars sample return mission."

Winner of this year's National Space Club Press Award, Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines and has written for SPACE.com since 1999.


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Horoscope overview for May

Aries: You rupture with life force and at mid-month, find ways to match your impulses with praiseworthy, big-enough goals.

Taurus: A big month for Love and a sugary taste of what's to come with Jupiter in your sign starting June 4th.

Gemini: A month of rooting in.Yourself.

Cancer: Extra contented moments, less worry/fear.

Leo: This month to look for what's deeply satisfying in love and life, and to nurture your ambitions.

Virgo: This month to join your energies, toward inspired, self-centered goals.

Libra: Trusting your first impressions leads you to an edgier, natural way of being.

Scorpio: Come away from the extremes, and stay into a deep groove of productivity, sensuality, calm.
Sagittarius: A sensational month, when you keep a touch of sensibility.

Capricorn: This month for happiness, a love supreme day in earthy Taurus (May 23rd) and extra.

Aquarius: This month to strut yourself for deepening pleasure, sense of life purpose.

Pisces: Spend time with your ponder, and exit the fear matrix -- very creative month for you!

Planets

Venus: How you in beauty in life, and share it with others. What qualities are you drawn to in friends and lovers? What kind of art, music and creative self-expression is nourishing to your soul.

Mars: Your sexual energy, and the thrust of action. The expression of survival instincts, aggression, anger and vitality. What stirs you up to act, your passions, drive and the courage to push out into new experiences?

Jupiter: The call to grow, seek adventure, follow the path to your destiny. The cosmic champion of your dreams. Activities that broaden your horizons, fill you with faith and make you feel supported by the Universe.

Travel Info:Book worldwide Vacation Rentals for your world tours, vacations and enjoy your life traveling around the world to exciting and enchanting places. It’s a small life and a huge world, so pack your bags and start traveling.

Planets in Astrology

The Sun: The Sun is a top name. The ever in attendance core self that acts as a vehicle for achieving the life task. The Sun is the true self shining from the core. The Sun's energy is the center around which the qualities are built.

The Moon: The Moon is an achiever. The soul that holds the courage. The automatic emotional self that is the ground of a person's being. The soul's inheritance of home and Mother, and the desire to make that safe place in the world.


Mercury: Your sensitive filter. The unique way impressions are engrossed, and what your mind alights on. The preoccupations of your life throughout the mind. A messenger among the soul and the material world.

Mercury in Zodiac signs

Mercury in Aries: Mercury in Aries gives fast, intelligent and innovative thinking. People born with this combination are violent in their approach. They like to be on their toes all the time. Positively this result gives a penetrating sharp mind. Negatively, it gives quick conclusions and fickle thinking.

Mercury in Taurus: Mercury in Taurus yields a keen appreciation for beauty and a practical approach towards life. The person born with this mixture is mostly incoherent in expressions. Positively, it gives a steady mind, and even an inspiring sense of expressions. Negatively, it can lead to lust, or dullness in thinking and acquisitive.

Mercury in Gemini: It is the ruler of this zodiac. Brilliancy in writing and oratory skills are bestowed to the lucky person born with this full pressure of the planet. The person tends to be curious and involved in everything. Positively, the person is pointed, clever, multidimensional and endowed with great communication skills. Negatively, the person can be indecisive, scatterbrain and even stammering.

Mercury in Cancer: Mercury in cancer brings out sensitivity and insight in a natal chart. The person is typically a great listener. He is cautious and careful in thinking, with love for traditional expressions. Positively, the person understands with others. Negatively, it can yield to meanness.

Mercury in Leo: Mercury in Leo makes people strong-minded and very opinioned. They give a dramatic style to their communication skills. Positively, the people have natural ability for leadership. Negatively, the person becomes dominant and self-centered.

Mercury in Virgo: Mercury in Virgo gives extremely analytical skills, as the planet is placed in its own zodiac. People born with this combination hate to be irrational and disorganized. A slight ignorance flares up their irritation and worry. Positively, it produces a humid person with brilliant mind for details and research work. Negatively it inclines one towards over criticism, irritability and no imagination.

Mercury in Libra: Mercury in this sign seeks agreement and balance in thoughts. In this zodiac it can yield a combination of emotions, intelligence, and attraction. Positively, the judgment and intelligence in communication skill is superb.

Mercury in Scorpio: Effect of Mercury in Scorpio is that of seeking the truth and profundity behind everything and everyone. Though often not so capable of expressing himself or herself clearly, the person can grip and read other people`s thoughts uncannily. Positively, one blessed with this union can go deep inside mysteries and stands for truth. Negatively, it is self-important and concerns only with the self.

Mercury in Sagittarius: This combination makes the person quick, energetic and quite a visionary. They put thoughts in whatever they speak; hence it is not unusual for them to often move away from truth. They would love to be enclosed by people and listened to. Positively, the thinking is universal and gentle. Negatively, the person is dominating and unconcerned about facts or other`s attitude.

Mercury in Capricorn: Mercury in this sign forces a person to be alert about the words one speaks. The thoughts are thoroughly planned and executed. Ambitious, calculating nature with possibility of greediness is also evident. Positively, the effects are that of a strong mind, understanding, reliability and tolerance. Negatively, the person is manipulative and calculative for egotistical gains in whatever they do.

Mercury in Aquarius: The people under this power are bound to think out of the box. They are outgoing, though they may be regarded a bit peculiar by others. When well placed, it makes the person devoted to interests of others, with good use of his keen grasping capabilities. Negatively, the person really becomes odd and anti social.

Mercury in Pisces: Mercury in this sign makes the person tending towards arts and intuition. A person`s thinking also acquires a dream like excellence, a bit out of touch with reality. Positively, they may prove to be creative and good with people. Negatively, they may have a dependent and with a weak strip where relationships with people is concerned.



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